DirectDVD 4.0 ES

The list of DirectDVD 4.0 ES features reads like a movie fan's Christmas list: scroll-wheel control, AC-3 and DTS audio, bookmark capability, skins, and even a karaoke mode (so you can sing along with soundtracks, if you're so inclined). You can skip copy protection warnings, watch a 16-band equalizer, and best of all, rip audio from the DVD to an MP3.

On the screen, however, DirectDVD was a total dud. Orion supplied us with a code to unlock the application, but nowhere could we find a place to enter the code. The trial version is limited to 5 minutes of use before shutting down, and you must do all your purchasing and registering onlinewhich means serious inconvenience for off-line living-room users. DirectDVD was the only player we review here that required us to uninstall all other DVD players, and even then the application locked as soon as we tried to rotate the fast-forward knob.

DirectDVD's basic control console is reasonably navigable. You access most of the advanced features via a massive right-click menu that fills the entire height of an XGA display. The option tabs are packed with a lot of extraneous information that most people couldn't care less about, and we found Orion's online support pages useless (there are no off-line help files). We think DirectDVD could be a real contender if only Orion would dedicate more attention to substance than to flash.

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